Gov. Pat McCrory addresses plans at Tryon Palace

N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory smiles at Tryon Palace Commission chairman Bill Cannon, second right, as he is welcomed to the palace by Matt Arthur, in the role of Gov. Richard Caswell, during McCrory's visiti to New Bern, NC, on Tuesday, January 8, 2013.

Byron Holland/Sun Journal

By Sue Book, Sun Journal Staff

Published: Saturday, January 12, 2013 at 09:02 PM.

Gov. Pat McCrory’s inaugural speech in Raleigh Saturday got more personal than his campaign speeches, but was not as specific as comments he made in Eastern North Carolina on Tuesday.

McCrory talked to elected officials in New Bern about support for maintaining a strong military presence in North Carolina, about how significant Tryon Palace complex is as the state’s first capital, and about a need for a long term plan for the Global TransPark to become self sufficient.

“I made no political promises to anyone,” McCrory said in a Sun Journal interview, “and I’m reluctant to say what I’ll do now until I put out the fires I’m finding.”

“I don’t have a magic wand,” he said, “but I’ve spent the last four weeks reviewing policies that need to be changed and I’ve have help from citizens from throughout the state.”

“I pleased with the cabinet I’ve put together,” he said, including Republicans, independents and Democrats “from the East, the Piedmont and the West, some very high talent to take very difficult cabinet positions when some of the departments they are taking over severely broken. I had to twist some arms but I’m pleased with the talent we’ve selected.”

Asked if he planned to make the use of alternative energy a priority in new state construction, McCrory said he isn’t even thinking about new buildings. “My immediate issue is fixing the roofs and the floors and doing a basic paint job.”

Walking down the streets in Raleigh near the Governor’s Mansion, McCrory said he looked at structures in serious disrepair and asked “Who owns that,” only to find it was a state building “I’m afraid the mayor of Raleigh is going to ask us to tear down (state buildings) they are in such bad repair.”

Gov. Pat McCrory’s inaugural speech in Raleigh Saturday got more personal than his campaign speeches, but was not as specific as comments he made in Eastern North Carolina on Tuesday.

McCrory talked to elected officials in New Bern about support for maintaining a strong military presence in North Carolina, about how significant Tryon Palace complex is as the state’s first capital, and about a need for a long term plan for the Global TransPark to become self sufficient.

“I made no political promises to anyone,” McCrory said in a Sun Journal interview, “and I’m reluctant to say what I’ll do now until I put out the fires I’m finding.”

“I don’t have a magic wand,” he said, “but I’ve spent the last four weeks reviewing policies that need to be changed and I’ve have help from citizens from throughout the state.”

“I pleased with the cabinet I’ve put together,” he said, including Republicans, independents and Democrats “from the East, the Piedmont and the West, some very high talent to take very difficult cabinet positions when some of the departments they are taking over severely broken. I had to twist some arms but I’m pleased with the talent we’ve selected.”

Asked if he planned to make the use of alternative energy a priority in new state construction, McCrory said he isn’t even thinking about new buildings. “My immediate issue is fixing the roofs and the floors and doing a basic paint job.”

Walking down the streets in Raleigh near the Governor’s Mansion, McCrory said he looked at structures in serious disrepair and asked “Who owns that,” only to find it was a state building “I’m afraid the mayor of Raleigh is going to ask us to tear down (state buildings) they are in such bad repair.”

“Government operations is one of the areas most wanting,” he said. “The maintenance of existing buildings throughout the state has been neglected. We built a lot of buildings without budgeting operating money. Before we build any new buildings, we’re going to have to find operating money.”

McCrory said, “I didn’t come just to give a speech. I came to have a very serious meeting with state and local officials from the East regarding the issues we’ll have to deal with.”

“I came to New Bern and Tryon Palace for two reasons: to send a strong signal to the East that it is important for us to work together to develop a strategy for economic development and for a historic reason. This is the first Governor’s Mansion and the Capitol of North Carolina. It is of historical significance for me to be here.”

He brought Secretary of Cultural Resources Susan Kluttz and Deputy Secretary Kevin Cherry with him to New Bern after they’d been on the job for just a day to stress his sense of the importance of Tryon Palace and the N.C. History Center to state history and Eastern North Carolina’s tourism economy.

“I hear there is a short term military issue with wind towers that have the potential to not allow military airplanes to take off and land. The Utilities Commission made a decision regarding them in December and no one knew about it. To me that’s another breakdown.”

“I toured Cherry Point with former Gov. (Bev) Perdue and I’m going to be developing a strategy, that includes going to Washington and meeting with Pentagon and congressional officials,” he said. “We are going to do everything we can to protect our bases and we have to present the military with an economic plan that conveys that.”

“We’re known as the friendliest state for the military,” he said. “We honor their service, and when our soldiers come home, their leadership and skills will help grow our economy.”

Asked about his position on continued state support for the Global TransPark, McCrory said, “I plan to have the secretary of commerce review where we are and where we need to go in the future. We have to come up with a 10 to 20 year plan for who actually manages the park.”

He said he has tremendous confidence in Secretary of Commerce Sharon Decker and will be open to her recommendations on that and how to reenergize manufacturing in the state to produce jobs.

“My bias would be how we can move toward privatizing,” he said. “But I need the numbers on how much we’re spending. At a certain point it time it needs to become self-sustaining. There is great potential but there has to be a point in time where the money from the state has to be weaned.”

“I’ve got to do more with less,” McCrory said. “That’s what families and businesses have had to do since 2008.”

Asked his position of increased and new ferry fees passed by the General Assembly in it 2011 budget and delayed by a Perdue executive order, McCrory said he is not taking a position until his Secretary of Transportation Tony Tata reviews the matter and recommends action.

As in his inaugural remarks Saturday, McCrory said that “polishing up our state’s brand” in travel and tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, transportation and finance is essential and something he will be working hard to do as governor.